


The House

by hiddlesworth_Thorki_fanfic_addict



Category: Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Dubious Consent, Fluff, M/M, ghost story, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-01 07:11:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5196893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiddlesworth_Thorki_fanfic_addict/pseuds/hiddlesworth_Thorki_fanfic_addict
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been fourteen months since they’ve seen each other. Since the whole Thing after which he fled to London. And now Thor is suddenly there; grinning at him, on the porch of his brand new house, with a couple of suitcases. </p><p>“Hello Brother! I came to visit!”</p><p>Loki slammed the door at his face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve had this idea for awhile, and wrote this snippet awhile ago, but it just lied there in my text folder; so I thought I’d post it just to see if anyone was interested. No idea if I’ll make it into a full story or not. Probably not, honestly.
> 
> English is not my first language, so please forgive my mistakes. I am looking for a beta but found none so this is un-betad... (I am still looking for one if anyone is interested)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like it ^_^

It has been fourteen months since they have seen each other; and suddenly, on a bright Wednesday morning of September, there was Thor standing at his doorstep with two suitcases and a big grin.

“Hello Brother! I came to visit!”

Loki slammed the door at his face.

***

It has been fourteen months since Loki moved out of their parents’ house at Åsgård and went to London for work. Well that was the official reason; in truth, he needed to get out of there; he couldn’t stand his father anymore and Thor… well everything was getting complicated... During their time apart they scarcely talked; Loki making sure to call when neither his brother nor Odin was home; if it wasn’t for his mother, Frigga, he wouldn’t even have bothered. 

The change from Norway to London was brutal to say the least. It was his first time living alone and the flat provided by the company was small and far from the city. Loki had to wake at dawn to make it to work by 9am. He had to take the railway then two different tube lines and was often squished in the coach by the other Londoners. But he settled in eventually. Work was dull; just paperwork after paperwork but the pay was alright; and adding the bonus of moving from his homeland; the pay was actually good. 

So after a couple of months he began looking for another flat; he didn’t expect it to be easy, but he honestly didn’t think it would be that hard. Everything was either too small, too far, too expensive, or meant to be shared. And Loki was not the sharing type. 

He was reading the newspaper in the railway one morning; hoping against hope that there would be some kind of advertisement for some brand new, big, well situated and cheap flat around; but off course he didn’t find any. What he found however, was way better… Or so he thought.

Loki usually didn’t even looked at the ‘for sell’ category, but somehow that particular ad dawned his attention. Somebody was selling a house at South Croydon, the fact in itself was not a rare thing; but the headline “VERY URGENT! 3 bedrooms, 2 floors house for sell! VERY CHEAP! Need to get out of there!” pretty much was. So at lunchtime that same day Loki called, and soon went to visit.  
It was raining cats and dogs the first time he saw the house; the middle age lady that conducted the visit frowned at his wet clothes dripping water everywhere but said nothing. Together they did a quick walk inside the property; Loki asking questions and the lady answering grumpily and then came back in the living room to talk a bit more. 

“Why is the house so cheap?” Loki asked after a moment of walking in the room and looking everywhere  
“There is nothing wrong with it, if this is what worries you. There is no big building project around either. The previous owner simply wants to leave as quickly as possible.”  
“Why?”  
“Personal reason.”

He bite his lower lips and nodded. The house seemed nice enough; there was a small patio at the front and two doors at the entrance with a space in between; perfect to leave the umbrella and shoes when it was raining or snowing. The living room was right next to the door and connected to the open kitchen and there was a sharp stair that leaded to the top floors were the bathroom and bedrooms were. It wasn’t a big house but it was definitely better that his cramped apartment. And nearer to his work.

That’s how, three weeks and two visits later, Loki found himself to be the happy owner of a mortgage and by extension of a beautiful house in South Croydon. The neighbourhood was alright, nobody came to bother him nor to offer him a hand moving. In truth, they all seemed very wary of him moving in but they all fled when he tried to ask them why. 

Obviously he called his mother and told her everything; but he didn’t think that she would tell Odin and Thor… And then again, he should have predicted it… It was big news after all.

That was probably the reason why, after fourteen months of not seeing each other, Thor was grating at his door like some kind of thrown out dog.

*** 

“What are you doing here?” the brunet asked abruptly  
“Well, I told you, I came to visit!”

It took Loki quite some time to process the whole ‘Thor is here’ thing and re-open the door; running a hand in his tousled black hair and then leaning against the door frame. He was still in his pyjamas; a grey trousers with some faint coffee stains here and there and a deep green shirt all creased on the side and there were pillow marks on his cheek. No doubt that the brunet had just woken up.

Thor waited patiently until Loki took one of the suitcases, rolling his eyes and gestured him inside. They flopped down on the sofa and then started talking, or rather Thor talked and Loki cursed silently.

“You can’t stay here.” Loki cut in, massaging his temple. The blond’s smile faltered and the brunet quickly added “I’m not even settled in yet.”

The smile came back in a flash and Loki felt something flutter in his chest.

“I’ll help you! After all th…”

A loud clatter coming from the kitchen cut him off and Loki took a deep breath, visibly tensing. They both stayed silent for a moment and then Thor leaned to the left to peek at the kitchen.

“Is there someone else here?” he inquired, unsure.

The brunet shrugged and went to the other room; he took a look around and then cursed loudly.

“Holy fucking shit! Really?!” he said to the ceiling “I just finished tidying up these things! Did you really have to do that?!”

His brother joined him the second he heard him cursing and took in the sight of drawers open and pans and cutlery clattered on the tiled floor.

“Loki what happened?….” “Who are you talking to?”

The youngest turned to face the blond and sighed.

“No one.” He took in Thor’s puzzled expression and sagged against the table “I don’t know.” “Listen, you can’t stay here. I’ll book you a hotel or something so you can see the city a bit and we will see each other from time to ti..”

Thor was on him in a heartbeat.

“A hotel?! You can’t be serious?! You have 3 bedrooms! Do you have any idea how much I wanted to come to visit?! But mother always forbidden it! She said your flat was too small to have guests; but now you have a whole house! I though….” Thor dropped his eyes to the floor and took two steps back. “I though….” He ran a hand in his long blond hair tugged for a brief second, biting his lower lip “I am sorry….” He breathed, voice dropping to a whisper and changing the topic completely “For what I did before you came here… You’ve never let me say it before…”  
“Leave it” Loki hissed closing his eyes  
“You left so quickly after…. That... You didn’t answer my calls. You…”  
“Thor I said leave it!” the younger shouted “what we did was wrong! You are my brother! You want to stay and help me settle in? Fine! But don’t ever mention ‘That’ again!”

Loki shoved past the blond and stormed upstairs; moments later the sound of a slamming door shook the whole house. Thor sighed heavily and sat at the table, head in his hands.

“Loki…” he sighed again shaking his head. 

He jumped out of his chair when there was a loud thud at his right. He looked frantically around but saw nothing and then there was another thud but at the other hand of the room; the blond spun but there was nothing there either. 

“Loki?” He asked “Loki?” he asked again louder. “Ok, I get it, you’re pissed; but please stop doing that.”

There was nothing for some long minutes and Thor began to relax when suddenly there was the sounds of water running at the sink. The blond’s eyes grew wide; his body tense all over; he swallowed thickly and turned slowly toward the sink. Everything seemed normal enough, there were dishes in, lots of them, Loki had never been fond of doing them and usually waited until someone else did or until there were no more clean plates; maybe the sound simply came from a cup too full or something. Thor took one more step toward it and then promptly back off as soon as the tap opened by itself. 

“LOKI!!!!!!!!!!” He shrieked. 

Water didn’t stop flowing from the open tap and Thor was like petrified. Everything felt cold and the only thing he could do was to call for his brother again and again until he heard rushed footsteps on the stairs and then Loki appeareds. 

“WHAT?!” he brunet sounded panicked, “Thor what is it? What happened?”  
He had a towel thrown hastily around his hips, his hair was dripping wet and he almost fell off four times but he stilled only when he was near his petrified brother. He took Thor’s chin between his hands and forced him to look into his green eyes, nodding slowly when Thor obeyed.

“It’s all right.” The brunet said “it’s all right. What happened?”

The blond seemed to snap back in reality and began to look frantically around the room. 

“Loki the… The… Loki!” he choked. 

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose and Thor took three steps behind, eyes wide and shinning with tears, fingers indicating the sink and mouth hanging open.

“The tap just opened itself” he said at last. 

Loki closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Relax.” He put his hand on Thor’s shoulder and felt the man flinch “Relax” he repeated more forcefully. 

He guided Thor back in the living room and sat him down on the sofa, crouching in front of him, shivering slightly from the air on his wet skin.

“It’s ok. Breathe. Yes, like that. In and Out.” Loki patiently waited until his brother’s breath was somehow back to normal before speaking. “Yes, the tap probably just opened by itself. I does that sometime.”

He heard Thor’s breathe hitched and smiled as calmly as possible, one hand squeezing the man’s knee. 

“It’s nothing. This is an old house, well ok, maybe not that old but still. It’s nothing.”

“The tap just opened itself” Thor said “There were noises and then the tap just opened itself.” He could feel himself begin to panic again and forced himself to breathe slowly. “What the hell Loki?! What the fucking hell just happened?”

The man looked like he was on the verge of crying, he probably was. Thor was a grown up man, bulky and tall, his confidence bordering on arrogance. He had with very little fears; but there one he couldn’t get himself out of; it was more of a phobia than a fear actually. 

It has started when they were both young teenagers. They loved to play outside; often staying in the front garden of their parents’ house until it was dinner time; they were afraid of nothing back then; as long as they were together. But despite they profound love for each other, they were brothers, and brothers often fight. It was during one of this ‘fight’ that it all started. 

It was very cold and the day were so short and dark that it might have been an endless night; Thor and Loki had fought over some stupid game and didn’t want to talk to each other anymore, presumably until the end of time. They’ve been at it for almost a week. Thor still went to play outside, but without his brother by his side, it wasn’t quite the same. The evening was too dark; the gloomy street light filling his imagination with monsters and ghosts stories. He was playing with his ball; imitating football players; making it bounce on his knee and counting down how many time he could do it before he dropped it. Then a wrong move threw his ball rolling down the slope of their street and he didn’t think twice; he ran after it. Loki and he had raced each other on that street often enough that Thor knew everything and everyone that was in there; that was why he stopped abruptly when he saw someone standing there; a few meters across from him. 

The lady, because it was unmistakably a lady, had long pale hair floating with the wind, half of it covering her face, and some sort of light blue-ish sundress with thin straps, that arrived just above her knees, she was bare feet in the middle of the road. She had no coat nor scarf, not even a shawl and it made Thor shiver from the cold at her place. He himself had several layers of clothes and still felt the sharp wind ice him.  
He was about to ask her if she was alright; if she needed any help; or maybe if she wanted to come at his parents’ house to warm up and call someone but he kept his mouth shut when she picked up his ball resting against her foot. She studied it for a few seconds then came forward and handed it to him. The blond took it with a quiet ‘Thanks’ and was about to run back up when the lady arms came around him, now from behind, pressed him again her very very very cold body. She put her freezing hand on his cheek and stoked lovingly; resting her chin on his head. Thor stand stone like; unable to do anything; clutching at his ball. After a few heartbeat he tried to escape her embrace but she tighten it; her hand sliding to rest on his neck, just above his scarf. 

“Let me go.” He ordered  
“Come with me” the lady whispered in his ear.

They were tears running on his cheeks now; he was terrified. He shook his head frantically and let go of his ball, hearing it bounce on the still street and then roll away. He didn’t care anymore. He tried to scratch the lady’s hand, to elbow her in the guts, but she wouldn’t move and her grip wouldn’t relent. 

“Please! Please let me go.” He pleaded, sobbing.

He felt her tilt her head to the side to look at him and Thor did the mistake of doing the same. His mouth hanged open but he couldn’t shout, he couldn’t cry, he couldn’t do anything anymore; too shocked to even think. Her fringe had moved with her movement and uncovered what was under; or rather what was not. Half of her face simply wasn’t there anymore. It could have been a bad prank from Loki; everything could have been his brother’s doing until that point; for there was no makeup technique so good that it would make someone’s face that hollowed. Her eye was round and kept only by the nerves and veins; everything was red and disgusting and gruesome. When he came back to his senses he trashed and scratched and when none of that worked, he head butted her.

He scrambled to crawl away as soon as he felt her grip falter. He was sprawled on his back breathing heavily and trying his best to stop sobbing when he heard someone running down the street; he looked away from the Lady for less than a second but when looked back at her she was nowhere to be found. He looked around frantically and then wept heavily when he heard his brother running toward him.

“Thor!” Loki shouted “Where is she?” He asked as soon as he was crouched at the blond’s side.

The older one all but threw himself at his brother and cried. He cried for a long time, soaking Loki’s scarf, but Loki didn’t mind; he simply ran a soothing hand over the blond’s back and let him. After a while the brunet made them get up and walk toward their home; it wasn’t safe to be outside. On their way home Thor told Loki everything that had happened; he sobbed silently as he was talking but kept walking; he excused himself to the bathroom as soon as they were back home and skipped dinner. Loki had seen the women for afar; he knew his brother hadn’t been hallucinating; but they said nothing to anyone anyway.  
After that neither went to play outside anymore; for years the blond had nightmares, and often had panic attack when a stranger blocked him in the streets or when there were a loud noise. But Loki was always there to calm him. Their parents did wonder about what happened but the brunet told Frigga just what she needed to know and she did her best to appease her boy. As time went by Thor got better, but his fear of ghosts remained and anything could trigger it. Loki was the only one able to calm him and Thor tended to never let his brother go too far. They were always together and became closer and closer until one day, they got a little bit too close for comfort.

They’ve been lazing in Thor’s bed for the better part of the afternoon. They were adults now and their parents were absent to visit some relatives; and it was the weekend so no work until the following Monday. So naturally they past the time with movies and games, pressed against each other eating microwaved popcorn. Loki had been commenting almost every seconds of the bad action movie Thor was trying to watch and eat more than half of the popcorn alone. How he was able to both talk and eat at the same time was a wonder and Thor wished him to choke on his food just so he would stop talking.

“Shhhh” the blond said, eyes glued on the screen.  
“Oh please, this is so boring….” 

With his toes the brunet closed the lid of the laptop cutting the character’s sentence in the middle and grinned widely when Thor turned to glare at him. Then the blond was suddenly straddling him and tickling him as punishment. There were popcorn everywhere as Loki spilled the bowl with his trashing but neither care. The younger one tried to retaliate and soon they were both laughing and breathing heavily. Thor collapsed on top of his brother and didn’t move even when Loki pushed at him. 

“I really wanted to see that movie”  
“And I find it very boring.” The brunet said flexing his fingers to see if he could still move them.  
“And what do you want to do then?” the elder asked putting his chin on top of the other man’s chest.  
“Don’t know, surprise me.”

Thor frown a bit and when his eyes fell on Loki’s red face, he did. He pressed their lips together chastely. He heard the brunet take a sharp breathe and then felt his hands push at his arms. It wasn’t the first time they did that. But each time was the same; no matter who did it there was the same thrill at doing something that forbidden. Loki pushed a little harder but Thor didn’t stop. Instead he coaxed Loki’s mouth open with his tongue and then kissed him fully. He could feel the man tense underneath him, he could feel his nails dig into his flesh but somehow; Thor couldn’t stop.

“Thor what do you think you’re doing?!” Loki hissed when they broke up for air. The blond simply hummed and kissed his cheek. “Thor” he warned, but his voice was growing weak. 

The blond kissed him again, as sweetly as the first time and this time when Loki grabbed his arms he pulled him closer. He felt one of Thor’s thigh sneaked between his legs and moaned despite himself when it pressed against his crotch. 

“Thor…” He breathed, but he wasn’t sure if it was meant as a plea to stop or to continue  
“shh” The blond whispered, running a hand over the younger’s hair. 

He began rubbing his tight between his brothers leg and sighed in pleasure when he felt Loki’s cock stir and harden. Soon Loki was rubbing himself on Thor; hips pushing of their own accord and head tilted in demand of another kiss; his brother was happy to comply. Then Thor sneaked a hand under the stretchy waistband of Loki’s trousers and underwear and grabbed his prick. The brunet threw his head back and moaned wantonly; nails scratching at Thor’s arm again. The blond began a slow up and down motion and then stopped abruptly to shove both trousers and boxer shorts out of the way and then resumed his teasing. Putting his forehead on the pillow next to the brunet’s head, he quickly kissed the pale neck and stopped again long enough to push down his own sweatpants and underwear and gently grabbed Loki’s hand, licked it, and closed it over his heated flesh. He felt his brother pull his hand back a little but he kept it there. Arranging himself better he promptly resumed where he left off and kissed Loki when he made to say something. Thor’s hand never left Loki’s one on his cock; but at some point it wasn’t guided it anymore; Loki was pleasuring him on his own volition. They were both moaning and pushing into each other’s hands; the blond kissed every millimetres of milky skin available to him and he felt Loki tense and whine; his grip on Thor’s cock tightening slightly and then he was coming with a deep moan; sagging in the bed boneless. The blond kept his hand moving until he too reached his peak and then collapsed back onto his brother. 

There were no sounds except for their ragged breathing; and when it eventually evened out both men kept quiet. Thor finally moved from Loki and flopped on his back next to him; the brunet didn’t miss a second and pulled his trousers and underwear back up, not minding the mess; then he sat and tried to get off the bed as quickly as possible. 

“Lok” Thor began, sitting on the bed.

Loki punched him so hard that the blond fell back on the mattress. 

Then he went to hide in his bedroom and think over what they did. It was wrong and yet it had felt so right. Loki couldn’t stop thinking about it, about Thor’s hand on him and wanting more. He did his best to avoid the blond, living early for work, staying in his room with the door locked; the only time they had to be in the same space was during the meals. Thor kept trying to talk to him; but Loki avoid it, ignoring the blond completely while he tried to sort his own emotion. He shouldn’t want that, he couldn’t. Two weeks later Loki told everyone he was moving to London.

Thor had been devastated…

***

Loki shook his head to clear it and come back to the present and sagged against the blond; his chin on the man’s knee. 

“I’ve no idea what is happening here.” He said quietly. “The house does that sometime. It started a few weeks after I started living here. Things falls, moves, or simply disappear. Sometime they reappear later, and often they don’t. Sometime taps open alone or doors unlock themselves… It’s odd but it gets easier once you’re used to it.” 

“Are you telling me that this house is haunted?” Thor shrieked, resuming looking around, heart beating faster by seconds. 

Loki put his hand on his stubble covered cheek and forced the blond to look at him.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. All I am saying is that the house does things sometimes.” He sighed and made to get up “Let me get dress and I’ll take you to a hotel.”  
“No!” The blond nearly shouted. He folded his arms over his chest and looked as stubborn as can be “you live here, I am staying!”  
“Thor please.” 

There was an air of quiet determination on the man’s face and the brunet knew that when his brother had decided something, there was no way to make him reconsider. But Loki was about to say something nonetheless when they heard things falling down somewhere upstairs and Thor let out a loud and undignified squeak, clutching desperately at the brunet arm.

“Oh great” Loki muttered before heading toward the stairs, Thor in toes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was delighted to learn that there is really a city named Asgard in Norway *ç* I need to visit it one day.  
> If anyone is interested in continuing or by the theme, please, be my guest.  
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for you comments and kudos! It means a lot to me! I am so glad that you like that story.  
> I know I said that I was not going to write a full story, but it seems like I couldn't help myself... I kept having ideas so I thought why not write the other chapter and see where this goes. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it. ^ç^

Loki sprawled on his bed with a contented sigh; he was exhausted, both physically and mentally; it had been a very long day…

They didn’t stay in the house long. After Loki went upstairs to change and toured Thor briefly, explaining where everything was in the house, they went for a walk. They did a quick stroll in the neighbourhood before heading to the railway station and then to Greater London.

Thor loved it, just like Loki knew he would. He loved everything, from the architecture to the busy roads full of tourists and theatres almost everywhere. They went to the big M&M’s shop in Piccadilly and Loki had to stop him from buying every single items; but the brunet did nothing to stop his brother from making a fool of himself though. They took plenty of photos with Thor’s old phone and then switched to Loki’s when the battery ran low. 

They were laughing and teasing each other just like when they were young; clapping at each other shoulders; and Loki couldn’t help the smile that split his face in two. They were sitting at a Chinese restaurant near Oxford Street when it hit him just how much he had missed his brother. The sudden realisation send a wave of conflicted emotions washing over him and he stopped eating. 

“What’s wrong?” Thor asked with a fork full of sweet & sour chicken halfway to his mouth.  
“Nothing” Loki shook his head, smiled half-heartedly and resumed eating. 

They did a lot of sightseeing and by the time they were back at Loki’s house both they feet were throbbing and exhaustion kept them glued to the sofa.

The brunet ordered some food from his phone and they eat in front of the telly, too tired to have a proper conversation. At 10:30pm Loki showed his brother his room; changed the sheets and then went to his own room to get some well deserve sleep.

***

It must have been a little after midnight when the brunet awoke to the sound of his bedroom door being pushed open. That was new. Doors often unlocked themselves; but they never did open alone before. He was rubbing his eyes, half asleep, and half sitting on the bed when he saw a form moving toward him in the dark. He tensed, his heart skipped a beat and then raced. The form was getting closer to his bed and Loki just sat there, afraid.

No matter what he would say to his brother; no matter what façade he would put up, he knew that there were things out there; odd and not necessarily nice… He wasn’t phobic as the blond, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid. 

His arm moved silently toward the bedside table, eyes never leaving the shadow that crept closer to him; his fingers brushed the edge of the book he kept there, ready to grab and toss it at whatever the shadow was.

“Loki?” a voice whispered in the dark “You’re awake?”

The brunet felt relief settle down deep in his bones and fell back on the bed with a soft whimper. That was only Thor; of course it was only him. Loki had almost forgotten that his brother was there.

“What is it?” he mumbled  
“Can I sleep here?”

Loki didn’t answer; for a few seconds he thought about it then he simply moved the sheet out of the way. Thor did some tossing and turning until he finally found a comfortable position, facing his brother and then smiled in the dark, his eyes sparkling.

“Thanks.” He whispered  
“I don’t know you manage to cope without me” Loki mused out loud closing his eyes  
“I didn’t…” 

And with just that sentence guilt washed over him and threatened to drown him. He had been so confused by what happened between them; so desperate to flee his own desire that he had abandoned his brother. He curled up in a ball and kept his mouth shut, before abruptly turning his back to the blond. 

“Thor” he warned when the felt the man move closer “Don’t.” 

The blond let his hand hover over Loki’s waist for a few second and then tucked it back under his pillow. No matter what they wanted to believe, things were different now.

***

Surprisingly, nothing odd happened during the night. Nothing that he could see right away at least, apart from the usual cracking and tapping of course. It was still dark outside; probably around five; and Loki was already in the kitchen eating breakfast. He could hear Thor getting up upstairs; well, he hoped it was his brother. 

The blond growled when the kitchen light burned his eyes and shut them tightly; blindly moving toward his brother; hands stretched in front of him to feel where he was going. Loki put a cup of coffee in front of him as soon as his backside touched the chair.

“Mornin…” he trailed off scratching his head; still frowning.  
“Good morning.”  
“Why are you up so early? I though eleven was the perfect time for you.” The blond croaked

The brunet chuckled and went to fetch a bowl and some milk for him before handing him the cereal box.

“Got to go to work today.” He said around a spoon full of chocolate flakes.  
“Thought you were closer to it now”  
“Habit I suppose.”

Thor hummed and then concentrated on his food; one hand supporting his head. He watched Loki get up and shivered when he saw him get near the sink.

“All right” the brunet said, putting on the bright orange plastic gloves. He took the sponge and began to do some washing up “what are you planning to do today?”  
“Thought I could go with you.” Loki turned his head slightly and glared at him from above his shoulder and the blond chuckled raising both hands. “To London, Loki, accompany you to London. And do some more sightseeing while you work.”

The man humphed and went back to his washing.

“Suit yourself” he mumbled  
“I originally though I could do some work here, but…” The blond trailed off

‘I’m not confident staying here by myself’ was left unsaid but Loki heard it nonetheless. He nodded briefly.

“How long are you planning to stay?” the brunet inquired after a long moment of silence.  
“Don’t know. Until you throw me out?” Thor joked.  
“What about work?”  
“I resigned”

Loki turned abruptly, splashing water everywhere, shock written plainly on his face. 

“You what?!” He shouted in disbelief.  
“I was about to be fired anyways. So I resigned.” The man shrugged and hid behind the wall on his blond hair. He heard Loki close to tap and sit next to him; he had taken off the horrible gloves and was pushing the hair behind Thor’s ears.  
“What happened?”

The blond set down his spoon and shrugged once more, refusing to meet his brother’s eyes. Loki cupped his face and forced him to look at him.

“I…” Thor took a deep breath and began again. “I couldn’t concentrate after you left. I couldn’t sleep either… I make some mistakes in the accounts. Sif covered me; but I knew it was a matter of time before I was fired so I went ahead and resigned.”

Loki felt the same guilt as the night before crash thought him and it was like he was punched in the guts. Thor looked miserable; he had been miserable; and all that was his doing. He wanted to run and hide from this feeling but Thor put his hand over his the second he felt his brother move and tilted his head toward it; his eyes closed. 

“I’m sorry” Loki whispered

The blond shrugged again and let go, before setting up to finish his cereal. Loki stayed put and watched him. There was some long minutes of silence and then suddenly something cracked. Literally cracked; causing Thor to spill what remained of his chocolate milk when he turned abruptly toward the sound. His brother’s hand was on his shoulder in a second; soothing.

“It’s nothing” he said “That’s just the house”

Then there were more noises; shorts ‘taps’ coming from upstairs and they looked at each other unsure. The noises seemed strangely similar to footsteps; as if someone was walking with heels just above their heads.

“Stay here, I’ll see what it is.” Loki whispered, getting up.  
“I’m coming with you!”

Loki was about to argue, but when he saw the shadow of panic in the blue eyes he kept his mouth shut. It was probably best for the blond that they stick together.

They winced when the steps creaked under their girth and continued their climbing. The footsteps never faltered; but when they finally got there; there was nothing at all.

The brothers frowned at each other and went to look in each rooms; there was nothing. They could still here the taping noise but it was impossible to tell where it came from. After fifteen minutes they stopped bothering and made their way back to the kitchen to clean Thor’s mess. Only to find it gone by the time they arrived… 

“Brother…” the blond breathed as he looked upon the pristine table.

Loki shook his head and went to take a proper look. The spoon and cereal box were left untouched, but the bowl had been straightened and there were no milk on the table, not even crumbs. The man swallowed hard and will his heart to calm down, certainly there was a perfectly logical explanation; all he had to do was to find it… He took a glance at the sink but everything was just like he left it.

“How? Who cleaned that?” Thor asked voice unsteady  
“I don’t know. But whoever it was, I suppose we have to thank it.”

The best he could do right now, for both their sake, was to stay calm and act as if nothing. If Thor saw him afraid, he would panic and nothing good would come out of it. He forced himself to smile and pick up the now empty bowl and spoon and pilled them up in the sink with the rest of the unwashed dishes. He was about to turn when he felt Thor grab him for behind and bury his face in his neck.

“Your house creeps me out” he muttered

Loki bit back the ‘me too’ he was about to say and worried his lip. Then he tapped lightly on Thor’s arm and forced him to let go.

“Let’s get ready for the day.” The brunet breathed.

They went back upstairs in a flash, almost running up the stairs, never parting. First they went in the blond’s room where he tossed a suitcase on the bed, opened it and snatched some clothes without even looking; then in Loki’s room where the brunet did pretty much the same before both of them squeezed in the bathroom. One brushed his teeth and shaved while the other bathed and after some time they reversed. 

“Does that happen often?” Thor ask from the bathtub  
“First time” Loki answered, combing his hair.  
“What do you thing it means?” 

Loki stay silent, watching transfix as the blond stepped out and grab a towel to dry himself. Thor hadn’t change a bit; apart from his longer hair and deep purplish bruises under his eyes he was just like he had been that afternoon back at home. Tall, broad and handsome. Loki indulged himself some more until he realized Thor was watching him with a smug smile and blushed scarlet.

“I… I don’t know what that mean.” The brunet hurried to answer.  
“Loki” Thor smiled. 

The man strolled up to him, his grin getting larger by seconds and stopped a few centimetres from the younger one, blocking him between the bathroom sink and himself. 

“See something you like?” he teased  
“Go away” Loki hissed averting his eyes.

The blond was about to talk again when they heard something fall in the next room. They both tensed and Thor took several steps back. 

They hurried to get dress and ready; Loki did a quick tour in the house to check if everything was in order and then finally they were out, heading toward the railway.

“You got my number? Call if you need anything.” The brunet said once they were sitting in the train.  
“Will you answer?”

Loki knew his brother was teasing but he couldn’t help the tightness he felt in his chest when he thought back at all the times he ignored Thor’s call. 

“I’ll keep my phone with me.” He said instead.

The blond nodded and they fell silent. They parted at Victoria station; Loki heading for the Victoria line and Thor for the central line. It was weird to watch Thor get farther and farther away from him; rapidly swallowed by crowd; it felt like losing his brother and Loki didn’t like the taste it left in his mouth. 

- _Call if you get lost. L_ \- he typed quickly on his phone.  
- _Ok, I’ll be alright. T_ \- came the reply a few minutes later.  
- _Starbuck’s fine if you want to rest for a bit. And don’t stop to talk to people handing things! L-_  
- _Thx. Ok, I won’t. stop worrying. XO T-_

Loki stared at his phone a long time before sending a last message; a smiley with its tongue sticking out and pocketing it. They were set to meet at lunchtime; and Loki could already tell that it wouldn’t arrive quickly enough.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for you comments and kudos! I am so glad that you like that story.  
> I am sorry about my erratic posting schedule, I'll try my best to post at least once a week but I cannot guarantee T_T Sorry.   
> (but as I am writing this I have 1008 words of the next chapter written so I guess it's a good thing ^^")  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter. ^ç^

There was a deep sigh coming from his left when Loki checked his phone for the umpteenth time in twelve minutes.

“At least put it in silence Lok; the noise makes me want to piss”  
“Shut up Clint!”

Just to annoy the man some more Loki put his phone to sleep and woke it again, making sure to move his finger over the screen several times to make more of the water sounds. He heard his co-worker grumble something but didn’t pay him anymore attention. 

It was ten to twelve; his leg was bouncing under the desk and his fingers itched to tape the wood in rhythm. He didn’t even pretend to work anymore; not that did a proper job at doing it since he sat at his cubicle in the morning; files were scattered on the piece of furniture, along with pens and highlighters and his phone was on top of everything.

Thor and he were supposed to meet at Burger King at quarter past twelve; not the healthier meal ever, but definitely cheaper than a restaurant, they both agreed on that. The brunet had been checking his phone regularly from the moment he parted with his brother at Victoria, but there were no news from the blond since his last message two hours earlier. A part of him was relieved, that would certainly means that Thor was alright; but another part couldn’t help but be bothered. He was used to Thor trying to reach him at all time; even during their time apart. For the last few months, Loki had to mute his phone because it would ring almost every couple of hours and Thor’s number was always the one glowing on the screen. And then suddenly the blond wasn’t calling, nor sending a message anymore? Something was odd…  
He was about to check the device again when someone leant against his desk and took it from him.

“Hey!” he shouted “Give it back!”  
“Only after you tell me what’s happening.” Clint argued.

His co-worker was a tall man, albeit shorter than him by a few centimetres, with vivid blue eyes and short dark blond hair. He had a perpetual goofy expression that irked Loki at the beginning, but the brunet learned quickly not to judge a book by its cover. Clint was way more clever, confident and efficient that his appearance let think; and all that despite his slight disadvantage. The man was half deaf and wore hearing aids; often joking about how the device gave him the superpower to choose what he wanted to hear and to do it better that anyone else. He was also one of those who helped Loki settle in his new life in London.

“Nothing that concerns you. Now give it back!” 

Loki tried to snatched back his phone but Clint made sure he couldn’t reach it. Eventually the brunet settled for crossing his arms over his chest and pouted.

“Come on Lok.” The man coaxed, poking at Loki’s shoulder “You spend months looking at your phone as if it had teeth and suddenly you can’t part from it for more than a minute. Who is she?”

Loki stared at him in disbelief and burst out laughing. A few heads turned in their general direction and the brunet stifled his laugh nodding apologetically. 

“Nothing like that” he chuckled. “My brother came to visit.” He admitted “he’s alone in London for the first time”

The man nodded thoughtfully. 

“Your brother? As in the brother?” he asked eyebrows raised high.  
“I got only one”   
“So no girlfriend then?” the blond questioned  
“Nope.” Loki giggled   
“Isn’t that the same brother you kept ignoring for the past year?”

The brunet sobered, jaw snapping shut, and got up; he snatched his phone from the blond’s grasp and glared at him before heading toward the door without another word.

“Ok got it, sensitive topic. Sorry!” He heard the man half shout over the noises of dragged chairs and people chatting. 

 

***

 

There were a lot of people queuing when he got in the restaurant; he glanced around for Thor but there were no sign of his brother. His phone indicated thirteen past twelve and no new messages. Loki made sure to stay visible at all time, glancing toward either his phone or the door every couple of minutes; but there were still no sound of Thor when he sat at a table with their order fifteen minutes later. 

He waited some more; nibbling idly at some French fries until he finally couldn’t take it anymore. He dialled his brother but was greeted by the voicemail without even a ring. He hang up and stared into space. Was that how Thor felt during the past year? Left without any explanation, not knowing if he was alright, unable to reach him no matter how hard he tried… It had only been half a day and Loki already couldn’t take it; and he made the blond endure that for more than a year.

Suddenly he wasn’t hungry anymore. He could feel his eyes water and a tight pressure settle in his throat; how cruel had he been… He punished Thor for so long for what he did, he took him for the sole responsible of what happened; of what he felt when, in fact, they were both at fault. And now his brother was somewhere in the big city, speaking an approximate English; probably struggling to find his way back to him and there was nothing Loki could do about it. 

Some rational part of him knew that Thor was a grown man, able to take care of himself, and his older brother; but some other part of him couldn’t help worrying, imagining him rocking against cold stone after a panic attack. Such a thing did not happen since they were nineteen but who knew what London could bring… 

He tried calling again; same result and he made to get up only to sink back on the bench. Where would he go? London was vast, his brother could be anywhere, he could also be on his way to the fast food restaurant… Loki worried his lips some more and checked the time; 1pm. He would have to go back to work in forty minutes. Fingers tapping nervously on the table he finished the fries slowly, forcing the food down as he kept looking at the door. 

He jumped when his phone vibrated against his hand, accompanied by the first few note of ‘Call me Maybe’. That ringtone had been a joke from Clint who always mispronounced it ‘Call me Loki’ each time it would ring near him. The brunet never bothered to change it. He almost knocked the soda down in his hast to answer and smashed the button.

“Where are you?!” he asked in way of greeting.  
“Well, I am sitting on the swing in the garden.” 

There was a pause and Loki frowned, not quite understanding until it hit him that this wasn’t his brother.

“Mother!” he smiled. “Sorry I thought it was….” He trailed off, scratching the back of his head.

There was a faint chuckle on the other side of the line before Frigga spoke again.

“It’s alright. I suppose that Thor made a safe journey; since neither of you thought about calling me.” There was a slight reproach in her voice “Is he staying with you?”  
“Sorry mum. It was all a bit… well… Sorry.” He took a sip of his coke “yeah, he is. I tried to convince him to go to a hotel but you know how he is.”  
“Is he there now?”  
“No, I am waiting for him” he said playing with a napkin.  
“What a change.” She teased “And what about the house? Does he know?”   
“He almost had a panic attack when the tap opened by itself…” 

Loki sighted, massaging his temple with his free hand. He could hear Frigga hum lightly and he supposed she was nodding at the phone.

“He wanted to see you so badly. You refused to speak to him, I did what I could to delay him but I couldn’t forbid it forever Loki.” She breathed “He is your brother. I don’t know what happened between you two, and I won’t ask you to tell me if you don’t want to; but he is still you brother.”

“I know.” The brunet grimaced. He hated when she did that... “It’s… fine. …….I missed him actually.” He confessed.

He could feel her smile, he could picture her sitting on the swing with her grey shrug around her shoulder, her hair up in a messy bun; blue eyes shining with glee and lips stretch tight in a big, stupid smile. She and Thor smiled the same way; a bright smile that could put the sun to shame. Their smile were infectious and involuntarily he smiled too. 

“I think it is time that you mend things up. You are both adults now.” “Anyway, tell me, what did you do?” she asked.

Loki told her everything, well almost, and for a moment he completely forgot about Thor. He remembered only when he spotted a tall blond on the opposite pavement and he stood up abruptly.

“What is it honey?”   
“Sorry mum, I gotta go.” He said hastily, running outside, leaving everything on the table.   
“Ok sweetheart. Don’t forget to remind Thor to call me. Love you.”  
“Love you too.” He hung up and pushed the device in his back pocket. “Thor!” He shouted, sprinting toward the blond.  
“Loki!” Relief was written plainly on the blond’s face.  
“You big moron! Stupid, stupid creature! Why didn’t you call?!” Loki hissed hugging the man tightly. “I told you to call!” 

Thor hugged him back and said nothing of it when he felt his brother’s shoulders jolting as if he was sobbing. 

“I’m sorry! My phone died… I forgot to plug it yesterday…” the blond confessed sheepishly. 

Loki detangled himself and punched his arms weakly. “Dimwit” 

Thor only laughed lightly, scratching the back of his head and bowed his head. The brunet shook his head and both went back at their table. The meal was cold but the blond dug into it nonetheless; Loki watched him mildly disgusted.

“How long before you have to go back?” Thor asked between huge bites.  
“Twenty minutes; give or takes”  
“’k” the man mumbled   
“Mum called” 

Thor looked up from his burger with wide eyes as if he just remembered something and swallowed a big bite.

“Shit! I forgot to-“  
“It’s fine. Finish your lunch, you can call her when I go back.”

Thor gave him an unimpressed look before mumbling something that sounded like ‘Dead phone’ and Loki shrugged. 

“So” the brunet began, slurping leisurely at his watered down drink. “What did you do?”

A huge smile spread on Thor’s face as he began to tell about all the things he did; where he had been and how much he had spent on various items. Only then did the brunet realized the three plastic bags the blond carried with him.

“Thor…” he sighed.  
“What?! I found gifts for mother, Fendral, Sif and Volstagg! Look!” He grabbed one of the bags and showed its content to his brother. “I even found a gift for fath…” Thor stopped himself the moment he realized what he was saying. He gave a worried glance at Loki’s face and bit his lips when he saw the tensed expression. “Doesn’t matter.” He quickly added. “I got something for you too.”

Loki’s curiosity was picked then and he tried to see better into the bag but the blond closed it and put it back on the floor. 

“What is it?” he asked trying to peer at the bags under the table.   
“You’ll see when we get home.”

Loki pouted but didn’t push. Too soon it was time to go back to work and the brunet gave nervous glances at the blond.

“I don’t feel like visiting anymore; perhaps I could wait for you somewhere?” The man said with a knowing smile. 

Relief washed over the younger one at the idea.

“There is a Waterstones a few streets from here; you can wait there. There is a coffee shop inside if you want.” He could tell by the blond’s expression alone that the man had no idea what he was talking about; it made him chuckle. “Waterstones is a book shop.” The explained.  
“Oh… Ok then.”

They cleaned their table and left. They walk side by side, chatting quietly; the brunet arm brushing against his brother’s with each movement; and he could see Thor’s smile from the corner of his eyes.  
Loki made him promise to stay there until he came to pick him up at five and Thor nodded again and again at every words until he couldn’t take it anymore.

“I am not a child Loki!” He eventually snapped. “I think I can manage a few hours by myself. Stop overprotecting me. I am older than you, remember?”  
“Only by fifteen minutes Thor! And shall I remind you that you don’t speak English? What if you need anything?”  
“First, I can take care of myself in daily situation; I am a grown up not some weak youngling that needs to be watched at all time; second thing, who told you I can’t speak English?” 

The blond switch from their mother tongue to English in the last part of his sentence. His accent was thick but his meaning understandable. Loki took a step back and stared at him as if he was seeing him for the first time.

“Since when?” he gasped.  
“You coming here gave me an excellent reason to learn. I may not be fluent, but I can still understand a few words” He switched back to Norwegian though. Loki stayed gaping until his brother cupped the back of his neck; bringing their foreheads together. “Stop worrying little brother.” He whispered. “Go to work. I will be alright. Come pick me up when you’re done.”

The brunet swallowed hard before nodding as much as he could and let his brother kiss his forehead before heading back to work. 

 

***

 

“So, how was lunch?” Clint asked the minute he spotted Loki in the office.

The brunet rolled his eyes and made a dismissive gesture with his hand. 

“I heard that your brother’s in town” came another voice, female. 

Loki glared at Clint who shrugged, amused, and turned to face the women that had spoken. She was clad in a grey suit with black veiled tights and killer heels; her red hair was up on her head tied in a complicated bun and a grin was playing on her lips.

“Natasha” he greeted “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit in our humble office?” he asked, voice dripping with mockery. 

She was their boss’ PA and they scarcely saw her wandering about in the lower floors of the building. If it wasn’t for her friendship with Clint, Loki wouldn’t have known her at all. And it would have been a pity, for she was a very interesting person.

“Is it true?” She asked and rolled her eyes at Loki’s fake frowned “is he here?”  
“What is your sudden concern for me brother you two?” The brunet huffed  
“You never talk about him; and then suddenly you can’t function because he’s here. We’re just curious.” Clint admitted, coming closer.  
“Is everything alright?” Natasha inquired, serious.

Loki nodded at her. Then he threw his hands up in the air and sighed. The two of them would not stop bothering him until he relent and told them the whole story; he knew that; but there were no story to tell. He merely shook his head and let himself fall in his chair.

“Yes, everything is wonderful. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” 

He turned his back to them and grabbed some papers; feigning deep concentration. In truth, Loki couldn’t think much of anything besides Thor and what happened in the house in the morning. Behind him he heard the two talk and then it was quiet when Natasha went back to her desk upstairs; Clint got to his as well and for the better part of the afternoon they were all able to get some work done. 

 

*** 

 

“So what’s the deal with your brother?” 

Loki was a few moves away from drenching the blond with his scorching coffee. He had waited as long as he dared to take his break, waiting until Clint left his desk to quickly run toward to coffee machine, but obviously, the man was stubborn and followed him. 

“There is nothing more to say. You know the story; he and I fought before I came here, I didn’t want to hear about him again and yesterday morning he showed up at my door.”

‘And it was as if nothing had ever happened.’ He continued in his mind; but he was pretty sure that Clint heard it. The man looked at him with a dubious expression and then smiled broadly.

“hum…Ok” he said before getting a coffee for himself.

Loki was left bewildered. No more pressing questions, no taunts, nothing? He waited for the catch, eyes never leaving the man’s face.

“That’s all?” he asked when he realised that Clint wasn’t about to say anything else.  
“Nat and I are coming over for dinner tonight.” The blond said around his cup. “We’re dying to meet your twin.”  
“You most certainly are not!” Loki grimaced, his grasp on the plastic goblet threatening to break it.  
“Are you going to keep us out? We’re bringing pudding.” 

And just like that he was gone; probably up to tell the news to Natasha. Loki leaned against the wall and set his cup on the table. Great… That was absolutely fantastic… He took his phone out, ready to call Thor, only to remember that he wouldn’t be able to join him. He pocketed the device again, grumbling. 

Loki went back to his desk slowly and when his eyes met Clint’s he vowed that he would serve them frozen artichoke hearts with lukewarm water.


End file.
